Romney to run ads in California

Thursday

Jan 31, 2008 at 12:01 AMJan 31, 2008 at 3:26 PM

LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney plans to run a "significant" level of television ads in California and other states that vote Tuesday in essentially a national primary, aides said Thursday, signaling a willingness to aggressively try to derail Republican front-runner John McCain.

Since his defeat in Florida Tuesday, the former Massachusetts governor has been debating how much of an effort to make in the 21 states that hold primaries and caucuses Tuesday.

Romney is trying to get back on track after two straight losses to McCain - in South Carolina on Jan. 19 and more recently in the winner-take-all state of Florida. That victory gave McCain the advantage in the all-important delegate count as well as the momentum in the GOP race.

In a debate Wednesday night in Simi Valley, Calif., Romney tried to cast himself as more conservative than McCain and argued that his rival's record too frequently deviated from the party line - a preview, perhaps, of the advertising message in the coming days.

"There are a number of pieces of legislation where his views are out of the mainstream, at least in my view, of conservative Republican thought," Romney said. "I'd also note that, if you get endorsed by The New York Times, you're probably not a conservative."

"Let me note that I was endorsed by your two hometown newspapers who know you best, including the very conservative Boston Herald, McCain shot back. "I'm proud of my conservative record."

Romney's advisers had given him several options, ranging from $1 million in ads to $7 million in ads for an expensive multistate effort. It was not immediately clear how much money Romney was willing to spend - or whether the multimillionaire would dip into his own bank account again. He already has poured at least $40 million into his presidential campaign.

His wealth is estimated at up to $250 million. The former venture capitalist has stated publicly that he and his wife have agreed on a personal spending cap, though they refuse to divulge the figure. The issue facing Romney was whether the additional spending could make the difference against McCain or amount to money wasted.

On Wednesday, Romney had indicated that he was not ready to commit to a costly campaign or television advertising in any of the Super Tuesday states. Instead, his plans called for campaigning in California and other primary states, while making organizational efforts primarily for caucus states.

That still holds, though Romney now will supplement his campaigning with advertising.

His travel schedule reflects his campaign targets - if not his advertising goals.

The campaign was planning to focus on areas with heavy concentrations of Romney's fellow Mormons: California, Arizona, and Utah, seat of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Romney, trying to become the first Mormon elected president, will attend the funeral of the church President Gordon B. Hinckley on Saturday in Utah.

He also planned a stop Friday in Colorado, followed by visits to Minnesota, Illinois and Missouri, key Midwestern states. In Missouri, a classic swing state, Romney enjoys the strong support of Gov. Matt Blunt.

Also on the tentative schedule were Tennessee and Georgia, Southern states where Romney has shown strength. Romney was likely to bypass delegate-rich New York and New Jersey after former New York mayor Rudy Giuliani decided to drop out of the race and support McCain.

Romney's home state of Massachusetts also votes Tuesday. His campaign tentatively planned to receive the Super Tuesday returns there, though a strong result was not assured.

In contrast to Romney, McCain plans to rely largely on momentum and "free" news coverage that comes with it by holding rallies and news conferences in California and big winner-take-all delegates states, including New York and Illinois. McCain was picking up the endorsement of California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger on Thursday, an event sure to garner loads of publicity.

His aides say he would make a modest and targeted TV advertising push in some states.

With winner-take-all states his first priority, McCain's tentative travel schedule calls for him to travel coast to coast for general-election style rallies in Missouri, Illinois, Tennessee, Alabama, Georgia, Massachusetts, New Jersey and New York.